Cardozo doesn't even start for SC

[D J B]

My thought is "good defense". This is not directed at you...

Last year UCONN beat SC in overtime. Barely. We shot 2-13 from 3, they shot 1-9. Overall FG% was 39% for UCONN, 36% for SC. Not much separated the teams. The difference was we had Paige and they didn't.

Point is, rarely IMHO do you see a game between top teams end up with both scoring well into the 70's or higher...

Good points.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Don't sell AE short. She'll battle and be every bit as physical as Boston.

 

[oldude]

Last year as a freshman, I thought Aaliyah did about as good a job on Boston as anyone for UConn. On both of Boston’s missed shots at the end of regulation Aaliyah was bodied up against Boston with a hand in her face, never letting Boston elevate. Without Aaliyah’s tough defense, UConn doesn’t get to OT and “the bounce” never happens.

 

[jchusky]

lol nobody realistically believes that. Shoot I think it's closer between Edwards and Amihere and Amihere was really good this game.

 

[AmeriConn]

JUHÁSZ could be a factor inside.​

 

[uconnever]

I don’t know if you guys remember, but AE did an awesome job on Boston last year for stretches. Surprised no one mentioned it because it stood out to me last year. SC is good but they have to win an ugly game against us because they can’t shoot or are streaky. If they are on than they will be hard to beat. But we should beat them and of course it won’t be easy.

 

[Alydar]

SC’s best 5, the same 5 that finished the game, is Boston, Amihere, Beal, Henderson & Cooke. Amihere is significantly more athletic than Cardoso, and she can defend the perimeter. It’s still very early, and things can change, but right now Cardoso is basically backing up Boston.

I remember when I backup post named Stokes played a big role in some big games. No shame in backing up a POY candidate.

 

[MD#12Fan]

You sure have a lot to say. Do you realize you’re speaking about the two undisputed best post players in the country?

It’s one thing to be a fan of a team, it’s quite another to disparage the opponent without regard to their games. I’m an SC fan — and I still posted on here that Paige was disrespected when the ESPN panel didn’t pick her to repeat as NPOY.

Hope Edwards has developed a mid-range jump shot since you are convinced she is surpassing Boston and Cunane at the speed of light.

Sorry to disparage! I can resort to hyperbole occasionally. I admit to being flabbergasted.
Did you watch the game? If you didn't I encourage you to.
I know about them being two of the best centers in America. I alluded to that.
Dec 11, 1982 Ewing vs. Sampson at the Capital Center in Landover MD. That's a center matchup.
Tell you what, since I got out of my lane a bit. I'll buy you a steak at the Aura Cafe if you watch today's game and you're not disappointed in your center's play and how she looked. Out

 

[diggerfoot]

When some folks were alarmed that Cardoso went to SC I said back then that the improvement would be in terms of conditioning and fouls not mattering as much for Boston, but the improvement we had to be more concerned about is if Amihere improved. I still do not think that playing twin towers is in SCs best interest.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

First game so I was more focused on chemistry and the lineups at the beginning and end of the game. SC obviously is going with what they know and they should with PERHAPS the exception of Beal (who I like). NC State has the pieces, but Johnson and Perez seem less effective together. They both like the ball in their hand a lot and that's not going to work. Jakia is a boss. SC might be better off not shooting a lot of 3s because...they aren't good at it. My philosophy is...if you can't make a decent percentage...there's a point where those misses are for all intents and purposes...turnovers.

 

[ConwayGmck]

Did you think SC was better than they were last year?
UConn is better everywhere. Returnees are all better too.
SC looked plodding to me. They've always seemed really dangerous to me in the past. Like if you make a mistake, they'll run past you.
IMO UConn is stronger physically than in years past. Aaliyah's not a freshman anymore. Cooke's not gunna shove anyone around. Paige is better than her. Nika will stand her up.
Sorry, not as impressed as apparently you were.
Ever been passed on "the corporate ladder"? Well, AE's gunna pass Boston like she's standing still. Going 2 or 3 rungs at a time.

Based on what? Who did they play tonight?? Are you seriously comparing CT's performance against Fort Hayes versus USC's performance against NC State?? 9 of Ft. Hayes' 14 players on roster are freshmen. They only have 1 player taller than 6-1, and she's one of those freshmen. LMAO!

 

[ConwayGmck]

I don’t know if you guys remember, but AE did an awesome job on Boston last year for stretches. Surprised no one mentioned it because it stood out to me last year. SC is good but they have to win an ugly game against us because they can’t shoot or are streaky. If they are on than they will be hard to beat. But we should beat them and of course it won’t be easy.

The stats still don't tell the lie. Boston out-performed BOTH Edwards AND ONO in last year's game, COMBINED. All by herself. I would be perfectly fine with a repeat performance from her this season....

 

[Alydar]

Boston is a better 5 but by the end of this season you will see that Edwards is a better 4. And sorry but Edwards is plenty big enough to handle ONO and quicker than either of the other two.
I love Boston and Edwards.

 

[Alydar]

The stats still don't tell the lie. Boston out-performed BOTH Edwards AND ONO in last year's game, COMBINED. All by herself. I would be perfectly fine with a repeat performance from her this season....

True but Bueckers made the "best back court in wcbb" look like swiss cheese. UConn's front court doesn't have to outplay SCar's, just make it tough on them.

 

[ConwayGmck]

NC State played a 4-guard unit with just Cunane the only player above 6-1. They didn't play Sophie Hart who is also 6-4 but is a freshman. So that's:

G 5-4 Perez
G 5-5 Johnson
G 5-9 Crutchfield
G 6-0 Brown-Turner
C 6-5 Cunane

So obviously there was going to be a match-up situation where State would play with quickness, perimeter shooting, and guard-heavy defense. Johnson and Jones off the bench were the Pack's leading rebounders, with 4 each. Front-loading a starting unit in a game like this with multiple bigs is probably not the best strategy, especially against an elite opponent on their own floor.

There will be MANY MANY more games this season where the opponents will have multiple bigs to match up with us. THOSE are the games where Cardoso's addition to the roster will pay dividends. But this early in the season and against top-ranked opponents, we're just not going to see generous rotations of our roster regardless of in-game situations. When starters get into foul trouble or heaven forbid get injured, THAT'S where this kind of depth is helpful. Against opponents with great depth that they rotate heavily, THAT'S where it comes in handy.

NC State's starting five played heavy minutes. Four of them totaled 30+ minutes, with the 5th (Johnson) with 27. For them, it wasn't about rotating their roster depth heavily and giving everyone ample playing time - they were playing to win the game. Next time perhaps we'll have more opportunity to give all our players more minutes....

 

[ConwayGmck]

True but Bueckers made the "best back court in wcbb" look like swiss cheese. UConn's front court doesn't have to outplay SCar's, just make it tough on them.

Hopefully in Colonial Life Arena, should Edwards hit Boston's arm with her own while Boston is trying to make game-winning layups, the officials there will call it this time....

 

[ConwayGmck]

And hopefully when a SC player tackles Paige in midcourt right before that, the officials will call that one as well, negating the need for a final defensive stand.

Luckily no one needs to touch Boston's arm to cause her to choke a chippy at the buzzer.

Well, get all of the cheap calls you can get, I suppose. You're talking about the 1:10 mark at the end of regulation? When Beal took rebounding position in front of Beuckers and the ball came off the rim IN FRONT of Beal? So that Beal was between the ball and Bueckers? Bueckers jumps up with her back to Beal's back, and LAYS ALL OVER THE TOP OF BEAL reaching her hands up and over the top of Beal to try for the rebound? Bueckers should've been called for an over-the-back - as it was, she caused Beal to lose the rebound out-of-bounds and it was CT's ball. Bueckers just fell to the ground in a semi-flop, but both of Beal's arms were reaching for the rebound - she had nothing at all to do with Bueckers falling to the floor.

A fairly imaginative description of the event from you. But contact with the arm of a player with the ball, who is shooting the ball at the goal in live time, should be called 9 times out of 7....

 

[jchusky]

And hopefully when a SC player tackles Paige in midcourt right before that, the officials will call that one as well, negating the need for a final defensive stand.

Luckily no one needs to touch Boston's arm to cause her to choke a chippy at the buzzer.

you're giving a reason for other fans to bring up the non miss foul vs Baylor.

 

[SCGamecock]

It’s. One. Game.

The first game at that. Jeez. Calm down.

 

[jchusky]

That's the game that I'm talking about, where Paige was straight tackled at midcourt with no call just prior to that play.

If the other poster is saying Edwards hit Boston on the arm on the missed putback at the end of regulation, this is the first I'm hearing of it. My goodness, the refs must really love UConn for them to hand so many games to them.

lol that's not what I meant, not sure which play you mean about Bueckers, but I'm talking about the favorable call when Carrington clearly got hacked.

 

[Alydar]

Hopefully in Colonial Life Arena, should Edwards hit Boston's arm with her own while Boston is trying to make game-winning layups, the officials there will call it this time....

Time to let it go? Maybe if your guards could shoot better your posts wouldn't have to try and score off offensive rebounds?

Looking forward to a possible Atlantis meeting. Should be a war.

 

[shiverz45]

First game so I was more focused on chemistry and the lineups at the beginning and end of the game. SC obviously is going with what they know and they should with PERHAPS the exception of Beal (who I like). NC State has the pieces, but Johnson and Perez seem less effective together. They both like the ball in their hand a lot and that's not going to work. Jakia is a boss. SC might be better off not shooting a lot of 3s because...they aren't good at it. My philosophy is...if you can't make a decent percentage...there's a point where those misses are for all intents and purposes...turnovers.

Both Cooke and Henderson shot 3s at a 40% clip last year. I wished they would have taken more instead of forcing the ball inside for turnovers and getting shot clock violations.

 

[ConwayGmck]

Time to let it go? Maybe if your guards could shoot better your posts wouldn't have to try and score off offensive rebounds?

Looking forward to a possible Atlantis meeting. Should be a war.

Well, it is CT fans who constantly bring up last season's game since.....last season's game. Oldude was waxing nostalgically about Edwards' effective defense against Boston at the end of regulation, just a few posts above. I guess HE doesn't think that it's time to let it go.....

 

[oldude]

Well, it is CT fans who constantly bring up last season's game since.....last season's game. Oldude was waxing nostalgically about Edwards' effective defense against Boston at the end of regulation, just a few posts above. I guess HE doesn't think that it's time to let it go.....

Happy to have such a large contingent of passionate SC fans join us here on the BY. But I would ask that if you’re going to reference any of my posts, you don’t create a fictional version of their context or content.

My post on Aaliyah was in response to someone else’s post suggesting that Aaliyah wasn’t anywhere near the player Boston was. In response I simply pointed out that Aaliyah did about “as a good a job” as any UConn player against Boston last year, adding an example.

If responding to someone else’s post constitutes “waxing nostalgically” then everyone on this forum is living in the past.

Congratulations on a nice win last night.